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Google Acquires Samsung's Lead Marketing Exec

(Benzinga Lightning Feed Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Brian Wallace, the VP of Strategic Marketing at Samsung's smartphone unit in America, is leaving the South Korean manufacturer for a gig with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). The executive, who received credit for the company's popular anti-iPhone campaign, will join Google's Motorola unit.

According to AllThingsD, Wallace -- who joined Samsung last year -- spent more than a decade with Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM). His LinkedIn profile indicates that he joined the BlackBerry maker in 2000. At that time, he served as a manager of the company's Global Web Services. He was promoted to Senior Director of Global Digital Marketing and Business Operations in 2003. In that same year, shares of RIM rose more than 367 percent. RIM gained 61 percent in 2009, the year in which Wallace was promoted to Vice President of Global Digital Marketing and Media.

While it is clear that he knows how to successfully promote a smartphone (particularly those that are already popular), it is unclear how successful he will be at promoting devices that consumers do not care about. He joined RIM when BlackBerry was just beginning to grow. He also left the company after it started to decline. Similarly, he joined Samsung after Galaxy brand had become successful. Now he is leaving Samsung -- which makes several popular handsets -- for Motorola.

Will this transition payoff Could his snarky marketing techniques reinvigorate the RAZR brand
Investors do not seem to care either way. Google, which is up more than eight percent year-to-date, is down roughly one percent today.